There's something autobiographical in the title of Courtney Barnett's album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, particularly when it comes to the way she writes songs. "Sometimes I have a bunch of bits of songs and stories, and I sing them over different chord progressions until I find the one that fits, or sometimes I just sit down and a whole song kind of comes  guitar and lyrics all at once," she says.

In whichever way those songs get written, they certainly resonate with people in the Twin Cities. Courtney Barnett is in town for two sold-out shows in the First Avenue Mainroom; during her visit, she stopped at The Current studio for a session hosted by Brian Oake and Jill Riley.

Following the recent death of Prince, Barnett has certainly had Prince on her mind as she plays shows at First Avenue, aka The House that Prince Built. "I knew that there would be a lot of emotion in the room," Barnett says, "but it was nice to be there all together, playing music, and people having fun and jumping around."

Barnett was recently at Coachella, where there were a lot of people jumping around. "It's a big, kind of scary, overwhelming festival," Barnett says, "but I can see the positive in every situation. There's so much going on, you can find your own little corner of something that interests you. We saw some cool bands; a bit of Silversun Pickups, and we saw Kendrick do a song, which was very cool."

Listen to the complete session to hear more from Courtney Barnett, including stories about her first time meeting and working with Jack White, the origins of the song "Nobody Really Cares if You Don't Go to the Party," and about her first time visiting Joshua Tree.

Songs Performed

"Depreston"
"Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go to the Party"
"Dead Fox"
All songs from Courtney Barnett's 2015 album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, distributed in the U.S. on Mom + Pop Music.

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6 Photos

Courtney Barnett performs in The Current studio.
(MPR photo/Nate Ryan)

Courtney Barnett performs in The Current studio.
(MPR photo/Nate Ryan)